Gary’s Story

Gary Pike needed the help of Cornwall Air Ambulance 20 years ago when he was caught in a motorbike crash on one of Cornwall’s busiest roundabouts.

He had been for a day out at the Birmingham NEC Motorcycle Show, back in 2004, and was heading home over Carland Cross.

The car in front was signalling to go left and Gary went to overtake, but the car carried on straight instead. As he tried to move out of the way, Gary’s bike hit some dirt in the road and collided with the car. As he hit the ground, the bike landed on top of his leg.

Emergency services were called to the scene, including the specialist crew of Cornwall Air Ambulance. Gary was given morphine for the pain; his leg was stabilised, and he was placed on a scoop stretcher and taken to the helicopter. He was then airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro for onward treatment.

 Gary visiting one of the Cornwall Air Ambulance charity shops

“The flight was phenomenal, I’d never been in a helicopter before, we took off and it’s like being in a balloon with that hanging sort of feeling and the suspension”, said Gary. “We arrived at Treliske and the medical services took over, it was all very simple and very easy.”

Gary had broken his tibia, the larger bone in the lower leg, and underwent surgery. He has since made a strong recovery and the incident inspired him to go on and complete his advanced motorcyclist riding course. He is now heavily involved with Cornwall Advanced Motorcyclists, a club which promotes safe riding.

Speaking about Cornwall Air Ambulance and the service it provides, Gary added: “We are rural, we’re town after town and lots of little streets, if you fall off a horse somewhere in the middle of nowhere, they’ll turn up. It’s very important, I can’t imagine Cornwall without it. I think they are fantastic. I’m very grateful for what they did.”